03/27/2017

What are common uses for silhouette curves in Autodesk Inventor?

Silhouette curves are commonly used for generating parting lines for plastic part design, or for use in multi-body part design.

A silhouette curve represents the contour of the model relative to a specific pull direction. The curve can include both the inner and outer design model boundaries, as shown below. The curve can be best explained by imagining a light shining on the model. The curve is placed wherever there is a silhouette.

The models shown below show two examples of silhouette curves created on similar models. In the left model, the silhouette curve feature creates two curves because the straight faces were excluded, and in the right model, it creates a single curve around the entire model because nothing was excluded.